The Deal
Pistons get: Forwards Reggie Bullock, Danny Granger and Marcus Morris
Suns get: 2020 second-round pick
Detroit Pistons: B
This hasn't been the kind of exciting offseason Pistons fans had hoped for. As Greg Monroe departs for the Milwaukee Bucks as an unrestricted free agent, Detroit's biggest acquisition thus far has been Ersan Ilyasova. The Pistons signed center Aron Baynes to a three-year deal worth possibly as much as $20 million on Friday, per a report by ESPN's Marc Stein, then completed this trade (as reported by Yahoo! Sports) to help Phoenix clear cap space.
None of that is sexy, and the Baynes contract looks like an overpay. Still, this trade is a solid one for Detroit, which takes on $8.4 million in salary for this season in order to get Morris. The lesser twin agreed to take $5 million per year as part of the collective three-year, $39 million extension he and brother Markieff negotiated with the Suns last fall. As the cap rises, Morris should be worth more than that money since at 25 he's in the prime of his career.
I particularly like Morris' fit in Detroit because he's a good enough small forward to start if needed but not so good as to block rookie Stanley Johnson's path to the starting spot. He's a capable outside shooter (35.8 percent from 3-point range last season) and can swing to power forward at times in smaller units.
The biggest concern might be whether Morris can be effective without Markieff alongside him. The numbers suggest that, in his case, the twin effect is probably overblown. Morris had a decent second season with the Houston Rockets before being traded to Phoenix at the deadline and has been about equally productive over the past three seasons without his brother on the court as with him.
The cost of taking on Morris' salary isn't particularly onerous. The Pistons must pay veteran forward Danny Granger $2.2 million this season, an amount they might stretch if they decide to waive him. They also get wing Reggie Bullock, a former first-round pick who has yet to find a home in the NBA. Bullock is a decent "second draft" prospect in his own right, and if he struggles in training camp Detroit can simply decline his 2016-17 team option and move on after the season.
Phoenix Suns: B-
In making this trade, the Suns are gambling on their ability to sign LaMarcus Aldridge as a free agent after a successful meeting with him Wednesday. The timing of the meeting with Aldridge was odd because Phoenix had just used its cap space to sign center Tyson Chandler, using Chandler as a selling point in recruiting Aldridge. Obviously, more moves were forthcoming in the event Aldridge picked the Suns, and this is the first step in that process.
By shedding $8.4 million in salary, Phoenix now has about $20 million in cap space. That would be enough to sign Aldridge outright. In that scenario, the Suns would have a couple of possible next steps. They could try to complete a sign-and-trade with the Dallas Mavericks for Chandler, offering either Markieff Morris and someone with a smaller expiring salary, such as Jon Leuer, or a package of forward P.J. Tucker and center Alex Len.
If the Mavericks balk at helping facilitate an Aldridge-Chandler pairing in Phoenix, the Suns could look to trade additional salary elsewhere to clear cap space for the Chandler offer. Because of trade matching rules, Phoenix would need to move less salary than Chandler's full first-year amount in a sign-and-trade, making it preferable.
So what if the Suns don't get Aldridge? Fortunately, the cost here isn't tremendously painful. This isn't the Cleveland Cavaliers trading Tyler Zeller and a first-round pick in the hopes of landing LeBron James a year ago. Morris is a good value, but Phoenix could still use its cap space on another forward to replace him. The Suns wouldn't do the deal unless they thought they were getting Aldridge, but it's not a disaster in a vacuum.
One concern, however, is that Markieff has in fact shown signs of the twin effect. He has been a totally different player when playing with his brother.
Some of that effect is probably statistical noise, since there's a little more than a season's worth of minutes either way. Still, chasing Aldridge might leave Phoenix with a lesser player at power forward.